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Shaun Kangas Review of “Men in Black 3: Back in Time!”

TERROR FROM BEYOND THE DAVES is pleased to welcome Shaun “Genghis” Kangas back to the site as a guest writer! Shaun is a fan of the MIB films and delighted us by sharing his insights on the hit new film!

Memorial Day Weekend is the official start of summer, and always the blockbuster weekend for “over the top” summer movies. This past Sunday morning I went to see MEN IN BLACK 3: BACK IN TIME. I had planned to see it at my local drive-in theater, but due to severe weather they cancelled the showing, so I went to a traditional theater and saw it in 3D….like how every film is these days, you just can’t escape it.

By now, everyone knows of the MIB films, they have become cult comedy masterpieces that can be seen on cable all the time. When the first MIBfilm came out the song that Will Smith wrote for the movie was everywhere, it was ingrained into everyone’s head! So when I heard this past Fall that a new MEN IN BLACK film was being made, I was like, “Oh here comes a song and a “Burger King” promotion super train!” Thank God that didn’t happen this time! By now the star power of Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith, and the success of the past two films, has made this one easily a “must see” film for families everywhere! I am a fan of the past two films and of the “Malibu” comic, so I was excited to see this one, especially since its been ten years since the last entry…yep TEN YEARS!

After seeing six long-playing trailers for upcoming films (one of which is called PARANORMANthat looks destined to be my new all-time favorite animated film), the film started. It begins with a breakout of an alien super criminal named “Boris the Animal” played by Jermaine Clement. With all the effects and make-up on his character you really think he is a bug-like alien, unlike the bad CGI effects that plagued “Johnny Knoxville” in the previous entry. All in the all, the Special Effects were great in 3D, and a LOT better than the last two MIB films (then again, tend years has passed, so…).

The classic banter between Agent J (Will Smith) and Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) that made the other films work, is back in this one! Since everyone has seen the last two films, this one picks up with the characters right away and throws you in the MEN IN BLACK world you’re already familiar with. The subtle jokes in the background were made for established MIB fans, like the picture of Agent Frank from MIB2, the worms, and classic alien cameos. Rick Baker came out of retirement to work on this film adding to the consistency. His alien creations are what you watch for in some scenes so you can match up with the classic films they were inspired from.

You’ll also notice that the 1969 aliens have a different look than the 2012 ones which leads us to the time travel aspect of the film. Agent J has to go back in time using a device save to his partner Agent K. The aforementioned device has Agent K jumping off of a building in order for it to work and this worked excellent in 3D – better than anything I’ve seen to date!

Going back to 1969, Agent J must save a young Agent K from the escaped alien Boris and to stop his alien race from taking over the Earth. The young Agent K is played by by Josh Brolin, who should win an award for his portrayal of Tommy Lee Jones!

At times it was so good I was convinced they did a vocal track overlay of Jones’ lines and matched them up with Brolin’s acting, BUT NO! It was Josh Brolin doing the greatest acting of another actor I’d ever seen! You are sold that it is a younger version of Agent K throughout the whole film. There are also great cameo appearances by Will Arennet as Agent AA, Bill Hader as Andy Warhol, David Rache as Agent X (Rache was easily recognized by me since he was the cop, “Sledgehammer,” one of my favorite 1980’s TV shows). All of the characters helped the film while adding to the comedy that steadily rolls on through the movie. The action is also constant and keeps the viewer glued to the plot.

I’m not going to give away the film but I will say that MIB3 adds to the mythos of all the MIB movies and creates an unforeseen origin to the entire franchise. It has you expecting that a main character is going to die, but ends up a tear-jerking scene that makes some aspects of the first MIB film make more sense. Believe me, the did the franchise justice by creating this story, giving all three films more continuity.

So I give this film an “A”! Great action & plot and adding to the movies mythology enough to warrant even more MIBfilms! And I sure hope that they will continue the series…just don’t make me wait ten years for the next one…PLEASE!